-17- We
"Why is our door gone?" Upon hearing Zhao Jinghuan's words, the people in the room, forgetting their concerns about the factory, gathered at the door. The doorframe, embedded in the wall, was still there, but the security door had been removed from its hinges. They counted the studio's belongings and found nothing missing. Tomato said sarcastically, "That's why it's the security door. Nothing's missing. But it would be even better if it could protect itself." Lu Kai and the others were stumped as to why someone would go to the sixth floor, remove the over 100-pound iron door, and then carry it away with the trouble of carrying it. Tomato said the only plausible explanation was that someone needed their security door for some satanic ritual. Lu Kai said this only plausible explanation didn't make any sense at all, but he still called the police. After all, reporting a cult was every citizen's duty, and the illustration on the security door was a commemorative gesture; it couldn't just be lost. Besides... "I replaced that door myself, over 500 yuan." Haiya Lane is an old residential complex with dilapidated facilities. The closest surveillance camera to Building 1 is on the main road several hundred meters away, completely unable to cover the unit entrance. Unable to see the thief moving the door, they could only check the vehicles entering and leaving Haiya Lane. However, the police officer clearly felt that reviewing the surveillance cameras wasn't necessary. Twenty or thirty years ago, there were plenty of criminals climbing over walls and breaking into homes, but nowadays, only during the holidays do the occasional unemployed person openly and smash car doors and windows. Break-ins like this rarely occur for most of the year, and even if they do, they usually happen in the suburbs. Furthermore, no money was missing from the house, so the "suspect" clearly wasn't seeking wealth. The police officer told the inexplicably excited Tomato, "It's unlikely to be a cult. I've never heard of any cult stealing doors." Tomato replied, "It's the anti-theft door cult." The police officer chuckled and asked if they had offended any neighbors recently. Setting up a studio in a residential building is bound to annoy the neighbors. Furthermore, when they paint the white film, they exhaust the air through a bellows. Although there's a filter, the paint smell is still inevitable. They've been making numerous apologies over the years, relying on their good attitude and sweet talk to keep the business afloat. So, while they do have their fair share of neighbors who are unhappy with them, Haiya Lane is an older neighborhood, mostly populated by retired residents. Even if there were one or two people with unconventional ideas, Lu Kai couldn't imagine anyone stealing the iron gate as revenge. And he couldn't imagine anyone even being able to move it. [The sentence about the residential building is incomplete and requires more context for accurate translation.]
"Why is our door gone?"
When the people in the room heard what Zhao Jinghuan said, they no longer cared about the factory and gathered at the door. The door frame embedded in the wall was still there, but the security door had been removed from the hinges.
A few people counted the studio's belongings and found nothing missing. Tomato said sarcastically, "That's why it's a security door. Nothing is missing. But it would be even better if it could protect itself."
Lu Kai and the others found it difficult to understand why someone would run to the sixth floor to dismantle the huge iron door weighing over 100 kilograms and then carry it away with great effort. Tomato said that the only reasonable explanation was that someone needed to use their security door to perform some kind of evil ritual.
Lu Kai said this was the only reasonable explanation, but it didn't make any sense at all. However, he still called the police. After all, reporting a cult is every citizen's duty, and the portrait painted on the security door is very commemorative and can't just be thrown away. Plus...
"I replaced that door myself, it cost over 500 yuan."
Haiya Lane is an old residential area with outdated facilities. The nearest surveillance camera to Building No. 1 is on the main road a few hundred meters away and cannot cover the unit entrance at all.
Without seeing footage of the thief moving the door, they could only check the vehicles entering and leaving Haiya Lane. However, the police clearly felt that reviewing the surveillance footage wasn't necessary. Twenty or thirty years ago, there were plenty of criminals climbing over walls and houses, but nowadays, only during holidays do unemployed individuals occasionally rip on car doors and smash windows. Cases of burglary like this rarely occur for most of the year, and even when they do occur, they usually occur in the suburbs.
What's more, there was no money missing from the house, so the "suspect" was obviously not seeking money.
The police officer said to the inexplicably excited Tomato, "The possibility of a cult isn't high. I've never heard of a cult stealing doors."
Tomato said: "Pray to the anti-theft sect."
The police officer laughed dryly and then asked them if they had offended any neighbors recently.
Setting up a studio in a residential building is hard not to annoy the neighbors. Furthermore, when they paint the white film, they have to exhaust the air through a bellows. Although there are filters, the smell of spray paint still lingers. They've been making frequent visits to people's homes to apologize over the years, and it's only by being nice and sweet-talking that they've managed to stay open.
So, while there were indeed quite a few neighbors who were unhappy with them, Haiya Lane was an old neighborhood, mostly populated by retired elderly people. Even if there were one or two people with unconventional ideas, Lu Kai couldn't imagine who would resort to stealing the iron gate as revenge. He also couldn't imagine who could actually move the iron gate.
The police officer jotted down a few residents who had clashed with Lu Kai and his team, then changed the subject and asked the studio staff what they had done after work the previous night. Seeing the police officer suddenly become serious, Lu Kai realized that he had initially suspected the missing security door was likely an inside job, and had gone through so much trouble before investigating the studio staff, simply because he was worried that "interrogating" them right off the bat would seem too targeted.
Lu Kai, unconcerned, confessed his whereabouts, saying he took the bus home after work last night, made noodles, and then went to Pop Mart to try his luck at the new Labubu. Wan Feng, on the other hand, went home to see his mom after work and watched American TV series all night.
However, when it was Tomato's turn to speak, he hesitated and couldn't explain clearly. When asked urgently, he said, "I am the same as the evening breeze." But when the police asked his roommate if he could prove what time he returned home, he said that his movements were light and his roommate might not know when he returned home.
The policeman looked up and down at the 200-pound tomato, his face full of disbelief, but he didn't rush to investigate further. He turned around and asked Sister Zou what she did after get off work last night.
But Sister Zou also hugged her chest and refused to speak no matter how they asked. The police went to ask Zhao Jinghuan, who glanced at Lu Kai, thought for a moment, and just shook her head, saying, "I didn't...do anything after work."
The police officer glanced at the few people and was speechless for a moment: "You all have a lot of secrets in this room."
Tomato suddenly became anxious without warning: "We...we didn't do anything bad, why are you questioning us like this!" The police turned his head to look at him and said that your current attitude is indeed quite suspicious.
"Is there anything you can't say?" the police officer asked Fanqie, "Where did you go to any illegal places?"
Tomato was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly waved his hands to say that he was not that kind of person. Lu Kai also helped Tomato explain, saying that despite his behavior, he was still a very decent person.
Tomato glared at Lu Kai: "What do you mean by don't look at me like this? What's wrong with me?"
The police officer said: "That means you met someone you shouldn't have met."
Tomato felt the police were trying to trick him, so he frowned and stopped talking. He shut up, but Sister Zou, who had been silent just now, suddenly spoke up:
"I went to see someone I shouldn't have met."
Tomato stared at Sister Zou with wide eyes, his cheeks puffing out. He was clearly on the verge of saying something, but he held it back. The experienced police officer, judging by the two's expressions, had a rough idea of what was going on. He didn't question them in front of everyone. Instead, he changed his tactics and summoned the three people with unspeakable concerns into the back room one by one for individual questioning.
After a while, Zhao Jinghuan, Fanqie and Sister Zou all explained where they went last night, and they were cleared of suspicion.
It was only then that the police realized that there was another Dorasi in the studio. They learned that Dorasi did not come to work that morning and did not answer the phone, so the title of "suspect" naturally fell on her.
Lu Kai and the others tried to explain for Dorasi, saying that Dorasi was always so elusive and always absent from work, so her absence didn't mean anything. As they were talking, they heard someone shouting from the corridor outside:
"Slow down, slow down. This corner is difficult to turn. We need to lift up and make a wide turn."
Hearing the sound, Lu Kai and his companions rushed to the door and looked down the stairs. They saw two movers, one in front and one behind, carrying the lost security door upstairs.
——Doraxi followed the two masters happily.
The police officer put away the notebook he was using for recording and looked at Lu Kai with an expression that said, "Look what I said."
"I guess the one behind is the Xiaoxi you are talking about."
Lu Kai's face was filled with embarrassment. The two masters had only just reached the third floor when he stood at the entrance of the stairs and shouted to Dorasi below, "Dorasi, why are you moving the door?"
Dorasi didn't respond. When the two masters carried the door up to the sixth floor, the security door that was once again erected at the entrance answered her:
The original illustrations on the door have been erased and redrawn, and the portraits of several people have been re-arranged and updated:
Tomato has become fatter, and Zou Jie has put on glasses and a shirt, her expression becoming more serious. Dorasi is no longer gothic, now sporting a yellow exclamation point and pink makeup. Evening Breeze has inexplicably donned armor, becoming the only character with a medieval aesthetic. Lu Kai's appearance hasn't changed much.
The most important thing is that there is a portrait of Zhao Jinghuan on the door.
She was wearing a yellow cycling jersey that looked nothing like a Meituan jersey, but rather cyber-esque. Her smile in the painting was warmer than anyone else's. And, for some reason, Zhao Jinghuan's profile picture was placed right in the middle of the group.
Dorasi spread his hands, pointed at the new door painting, and said something like a magic trick:
“Tada——”
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